Football

Former Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen and athletic director Scott Stricklin — now in those respective roles with the Florida Gators — are named as defendants in a lawsuit by Rebel Rags, an Ole Miss apparel store located in Oxford, Mississippi.

Sports Illustrated‘s Bruce Feldman first reported that “NCAA investigator Mike Sheridan and the NCAA itself” are additional defendants in the lawsuit. Rebel Rags and owner Terry Warren, an Ole Miss booster, previously sued former Mississippi State stars Leo Lewis and Kobe Jones along with Lindsey Miller, the stepfather of Ole Miss star Laremy Tunsil, for “defamation, commercial disparagement and civil conspiracy,” according to the Clarion Ledger.

Feldman further reported Wednesday that Mullen and Stricklin are alleged to have “committed acts to aid and abet libel, slander [and] defamation,” with the suit labeling them co-conspirators alongside the aforementioned Mississippi State players. In fact, the lawsuit goes so far as to claim Mullen and Stricklin “unlawfully agreed and conspired to aid and abet the creation of a false narrative.” In other words, it is alleged Mullen and Stricklin not only told the players to lie but did so on purpose in order to hurt Ole Miss. Warren’s lawyer claims “pretty good proof” against Mullen and Stricklin, citing NCAA transcripts from Lewis and Jones.

As part of the NCAA’s extensive investigation into Ole Miss, it ruled that the Rebels must disassociate from Warren until Dec. 1, 2020. Warren claims Lewis, Jones and Miller made knowingly false statements that led to the NCAA’s punishment. It is alleged that Ole Miss staffers arranged for nearly $3,000 in impermissible benefits from Rebel Rags and those parties confirmed that merchandise was received.

It had previously been reported that Mullen and others in the Mississippi State athletic department may have discussed pending NCAA interviews with Jones and Lewis, allegedly informing the players they would be questioned by the NCAA and helping to coach them how to respond to protect both their eligibility and the Bulldogs at large.

2 Comments

Maybe ole Miss sucks and thats what has hurt your business douchebag! Uh oh was that slander?!?! Maybe you should disassociate your self with Ole Miss and their hiring of prostitutes… probably sell a couple more T shirts….you attention hoe!

I wasn”t bothered by that, gatorgi, but as a lifelong Gator too I do get where you”re coming from. Thing is, the process could indeed take years.or it could be the other way around too, as Eugenio points out. We just don”t know and won”t until.well, until we do know. The thing I”m focusing on is my own opinion that despite the roster turbulence last season, we did in fact have talent remaining on the field. Also my opinion that it wasn”t utilized properly, and never did gel into a team with either cohesion or hustle (aka in my world, “sense of urgency). Again, in my world, that”s a leadership problem. If you can”t coach, teach, or mentor that leader, then you have no choice but to replace him. So here we are now, we did just that, we have a new leader in whom we all have confidence, or most of us do at least, and a really good class of new recruits. These are the reasons why I, personally, think next year will be a good season and so will next year”s recruiting class be even better, and so will the next season after that, and that we should be gaining elite status back or pretty damn close to it by the third season under Mullen. As Eugenio sustains, that”s what old Bobby Bowden did, and so did Scott Frost and so did Kirby Smart, et al, et al, et all. So as SOS famously said at the beginning of his reign, “Why not us?. And then he did it too. Why not Mullen? (insert smiley face here, that”s a rehtorical question only, since I know you agree). Go Gators Bud!

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